Homepage Television Heaven Logo
Only When I Laugh

Only When I Laugh

1979 - United Kingdom

Set in an NHS hospital where the same three seemingly permanent patients, all congenital hypochondriacs, are forever playing a game of one-upmanship with each other, much to the irritation of house surgeon Dr Gordon Thorpe, played by the excellent Richard Wilson. 

James Bolam, in his first comedy since Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads plays Roy Figgis, a lorry driver who has an opinion on most things be it politics, social issues or medicine, all of which he is a self-confessed expert on. One gets the idea that he'd rather talk than work and in the confines of a small hospital ward he is in his element. He delights mostly in winding up the staff and patients, in particular the hapless and effete Norman Binns (Christopher Strauli), upper-class snob Archie Glover (Peter Bowles) and the ward orderly Gupte (Derrick Branche). 

The series was written by Eric Chappell who was following on from the hugely popular Rising Damp. Once again Chappell benefitted from an excellent ensemble cast who relished every line of his witty, sparkling script and the series was a huge ratings success for ITV running for four series from 1979 to 1982. C4 repeated the series in 1994 to great viewer reception and it is available, season by season or in its entirety, on DVD.

Published on January 16th, 2019. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

My Good Woman

Wife is compulsive charity worker much to her husband's frustration.

Also starring Richard Wilson

Inheritance

Drama starring John Thaw which revolved around the fortunes of the Oldroyds of Annotsfield, a Yorkshire mill-owning family, through five generations.

Also starring James Bolam

When the Boat Comes In

The lives and loves of the depressed north-east following the end of the First World War is expertly realised in James Mitchell's compelling series

Also starring James Bolam

Raffles

As Raffles - The Amateur Cracksman, Anthony Valentine gave one of his finest performances. A role that was seemingly tailor-made for him began in 1975 as a single play by Philip Mackie before becoming a major drama series in 1977

Also starring Christopher Strauli

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads

A programme about the past, the future and the tension and changing relationship between The Likely Lads; the upwardly mobile Bob Ferris and Terry Collier, who spends most of his time acting as an anchor to Bob’s aspiration.

Also tagged The Likely Lads

Stigma

When workmen attempt to remove a large stone on a property their efforts seem to awaken a centuries-old curse. Katharine, the property owner, begins to bleed from invisible wounds, and when the stone is finally lifted, a skeleton is discovered beneath it

Also starring Peter Bowles

Six of the Best

Six individual sitcoms that ITV hoped would produce a full series and do for them what 'Comedy Playhouse' did for the BBC.

Also starring Peter Bowles

Blue Remembered Hills

Dennis Potter's extraordinary and groundbreaking drama concerns a group of seven-year-olds playing in the Forest of Dean one summer afternoon in 1943 - the most striking feature of the play is that all the children are played by adult actors

Also released in 1979